Thread controlling mechanism



March 5, 1935. Y J. P. WEIS ET AL THREAD CONTROLLING MECHANISM Filed 061;. 12, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR? .Toh'n 7- Newsb r? H was.

March 5, 1935.

J. P. WEIS ET AL THREAD CONTROLLING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 12, 1933 INVENTORS John 7? Wet; BY gber ATrokA/EY Patented Mar. 5, 1935 UNITED STATES THREAD CONTROLLING MECHANISM John P. Weis and Albert H. Weis, Nya'ck, N. Y., assignors to Metropolitan Sewing. Machine Corporation, Nyack, Delaware N. Y., a corporation of Application October 12, 1933, Serial No..693,271

27 Claims.

This invention relates to sewing machines and more particularly to improved thread control: means and tension release means particularly adapted for use with high speed cross stitch mech-.

anism such as shown in our contemporaneously filed case to which reference is made, Serial Number 693,270, filed October 12th, 1933.

This improved thread control means comprises an arrangement of thread eyelets, including one carried by the needle bar, two bythe arm of the machine and one at the top of the machine, and two acting as control between which operates a take-up finger that regulates and controls the size of the loops deflected'by the needle, regardless of the character of goods being stitched. From these eyelets, the thread extends through the tensions and then through a guide eyelet and from there to the supply. 1

The looper threads are controlled by an improved thread handling mechanism,,the thread extending from the looper back through a horizontal tube to prevent the'thread from shaking about at high speed which would affect its control, from the tube, the thread extends to an eyelet and then over a take-up finger, and then under a second take-up finger and through another eyelet, then through a third take-up finger, then through anotherstationary eyelet, and then through the tension and a guide eyelet adjacent thereto to where it extends to the supply.

In the type of, machineshown for handling delicate rayon threads, floss or yarn, most deli cate control is essential, especially at the high speeds at which such a machine must operate and then, too, because of the varieties of thickness of goods and textures, thread control must be almost perfect to accomplish satisfactory stitching under all these conditions.

Furthermore, the character of some of the work with which these machines are used necessitates that the foot be lifted and the needles brought to their highest position, at which time,

the work is removed from underneath the presser foot and, at such time, it is desirable, if not essential to have a tension'release to open up the tensions on the needle threads to permit them to draw through freely to" prevent breakage of threads at the eye of the needles.

As the present improvement is applicable to various kinds of sewing machines, only a brief description of such machines is deemed necessary herein to make clear the construction and operation of the present improvement since it is applicable to any multiple needle sewing machine.

In the drawings accompanying and formingpart of this specification, Fig. lis a frontview of a top and bottom rotary shaft Metropolitan sewing machine having this improved cross stitch laying mechanism applied'thereto.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the tension release for the needle threads and needle loop'take-up device;

Fig. 3 is a detail view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction ofthe arrow, of the bottom crank shaft and the three connecting rods extending therefrom for operating the top shaft, the rods being broken ofi, each of which" carries thread take-upfmgers for acting uponthe looper thread or threads.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the cross'thread laying Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail partly sectional view of the cross stitch mechanism.

Fig. 7 is a detail partly sectional view thereof showing the presser bar and presser foot shank and the mounting of. the cross stitchmechanism on the presser bar, and

Fig. 8 is a view showing the top and bottom of a piece of goods to which the stitch has been applied.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

Before explaining in detail the present improvement and mode of operation thereof, we desire to have it understoodv that the invention is not limited to thedetails of construction and arrangement of parts which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings since the invention is capable of other embodiments, and that the phraseology which we employ is for the purposeof description and not of limitation.

In a machine illustrated, the machine base 1 has its trunk 2 joining the base and carries an overhanging arm 3 terminating in a. head 4 to which is attached a face plate 5. A bottom rotary shaft 6 operates in the base and a top shaft '7 operates in the arm 3. These shafts are supported for rotary movement in suitable bearings. The top shaft '7 carries the hand wheel 8. "The bottom shaft 6 carries the belt wheel 9 and is provided with the well-known three-throw cranks 10 shown in Fig.- 3. r The top shaft has the three well-known cranks indicated by 11 in Fig. 1.

Three connecting rods 12 connect the cranks of the bottom and top shafts and transmit rotary motion from one to the other. The bottom shaft 6 operates the looper and feeding mechanism well known in the art and, therefore, a detailed description thereof is unnecessary. These mechanisms are covered and protected by a cloth plate 13 in the usual way. The looper 14 coacts with the two needles 15 in the formation of the stitches. The looper threads and the needle threads are concatenated with a top cross thread for the production of the stitches. If a third needle is introduced with its thread the mecha nism will then form a different type of stitch.

The top shaft 7 operates the needles 15 which are held in a chuck 16 carried by the needle bar 17. The needle bar has clamped to its upper end a driving member 18 operated by a pitman connection 19 connected to a crank pin 20 carried by the needle bar driving crank 21 secured to the top shaft '7 for rotary movement. The crank pin 20 has a member 22 supporting an extension crank 23 to which is attached by a shoulderscrew24 the pitman-connection 25 which operates the cross thread mechanism.

The bottom end of the pitman is connected by a shoulderscrew 26 to a crank arm 27, see Fig. 6. This crank arm is part of a shaft 28 which operates in a bearing 29 at the lower end of the machine head. To the opposite end of this shaft is attached as at 30 a crank arm 31. This arm carries a ball-stud 32 that operates in a socket 33 of a connecting rod 34, see Fig. 4. The opposite end of this connecting rod has a socket 35 that connects with a ball stud 36 secured to an arm 37 of the rock member or lever 38 carrying the thread loop finger 39 having a thread engaging hook 40; This finger is adjustably secured to the member 38 and thismember or lever 38 has a bearing 41 on the presser bar 42.

A collar 43 is secured to the presser bar just below the bearing 41 and carries a control piece 44 attached at 45 to the collar 43, the upper end being bent at right angles as at 46 to hold the bearing 41 in place on the presser bar during its up, and, down action. The presser bar carries the usual. presser foot shank 47 and presser foot 48. The upper end of the presser bar 42 has clamped toit a guide piece 49, see Fig. 5, carrying a bent, overhanging .wire 50 that co -acts with the presser foot lifting lever 51. This lifting lever is, pivoted to the back of the arm 3 as at 52, see

' Fig. 1, and hasits rear endconnected as at 53 The 'collar43 is provided with clamping means 56, see Fig. 5, that securely fastens it to the presser bar 42 and has a forwardly extending arm terminating in a vertical cylindrical bearing 57, see Figs. 5 and 6. In this bearing operates anoscillating thread guide 58 having a thread eye 59 at its bottom end in its laterally extending L-shaped portion. A collar 60 is secured to this member at the bottom of the bearing 57 and a crank arm 61 is secured to the top of the; oscillating thread carrier, giving to it its movement. A link 62 is connected to this crank arm by a shoulder screw 63 and a shoulder screw 64 connects its opposite end to an arm 65 of the lever or member 38.

The operation of the thread carrying finger 39 across the path of the needles directly in front thereof cooperates with the thread eye .59 so as to pick up the strand of thread and carry it to the left as shown in Fig. 4 to form a loop so that the needles will straddle the strand of thread extending from the eye 59 to the thread hook in the manner shown to form the stitches. The movement of the thread carrier 58 is just a trifle greater than the thickness of the thread engaging hook 40. The movement of the hook is just sufficient to pass the needles from right to left to position the loop of threads for the right hand needle to enter. These short movements enablethe use of a very light construction of parts capable of the highest speeds without vibration, noise or undue wear. The cross thread mechanism has a rise and fall movement with the presser foot and will accommodate itself to all thicknesses of goods being stitched. A precise amount of thread is manipulated for the requirement of the stitch. No excess take-up or see-saw action is necessary as is usual in other machines. By the cross thread mechanism operating from the needle bar crank, the parts are entirely hidden within the head of the machine for convenient lubrication, adjustment and care. All connections are short and as direct as possible reducing the mechanism to its simplest possible form.

The stitch produced by the cross thread finger is indicated at 66 in Fig. 8. The bottom portion of the stitch is indicated at 6'7 and the fabric at 68. The feed dog 69 acts against the bottom of the stitch 67 and the presser foot 48 acts against the top of the stitch 66 in the feeding of the work through the machine. The presser foot is provided with a roller 70 for conveniently guiding lace, tape or other material.

The improved thread control and tension release mechanism will now be described.

The threads leading to the needles 15 are indicated by '71. These threads pass through eyelets 72'and around tensions 73. From there they pass to a stationary thread guide 74 and past a rotary operating thread take-up finger '75. This finger is attached to one of the crank shaft bearings at '76, see Fig. 1, and because of this, has the same rotary motion as the crank pin of the shaft or the rod operated thereby. This thread finger cannot wind up or in any way tangle the threads and is, in a true sense, a rotary take-up. At the opposite side of this take-up finger is another eyelet 77, guiding the threads from the take-up finger to the stationary thread eye '78 and from there the threads pass to the thread eyes 79 and 80 and then to the thread eyelet 81 carried up and down by the needle bar pitman 19 since it is connected to the driving member 18 which operates the needle bar; This eyelet 81 operates in a slot 82 in the front of the machine head. From this eyelet, the threads are directed to the eyes of the needles.

The object of the thread control is to handle a minimum of thread with the least amount of friction possible and at the same time, control the size of the loops deflected by the needles, regardless of the character of work being stitched. The cross thread is indicated by 83, see Fig. 1, and passes from the eyelet 84 to the tension 85 secured to the face plate 5 and from there to the crank arm eyelet 86 from Where it is guided directto the thread eye 59 of the finger 58.

The conduct of this thread is direct and with no take-up action whatever. The amount of thread drawn of. by the thread hook 40 is precisely that which is required for the formation of each stitch. The looper thread 8 passes through a thread. guide 38 and a tension 39 and then'to an eyelet 90 and then to the eye of the thread take-up finger 91, which finger is adjustably secured in a socket 92 of the crank pin bearing 93 carried by one of the crank pins 10, see Fig. 3. The thread passes from this finger to a guide 94 and then down under the bent end 95 of the take-up finger 96 adjustably secured in the socket 97 to the crank pin bearing 98 carried by a second crank pin 10.

The thread extends from underneath this finger up over the bent end 99 of the finger 100 which is adjustably held in a socket 101 to the crank pin bearing 102 carried by the third crank pin. These pins are located at 120 degrees with respect to one another and travel in a rotary patn around the major axis of the shaft 6. Therefore, the ends of these three take-up fingers are travelingin a circle and act upon the threadswith gentle contact for perfect control. From this third finger, the thread passes through the guide 103 and from there to the end of the thread tube 104 and then emerges from the other end of the tube at 105 and passes direct to the looper as at 106.

This thread control means insures a perfect switch formation and eliminates the shipping of stitches, tangling and winding up of threads.

To protect'the fingers and prevent injury of the operator of this high speed operating machine, a metal guard 10'? is secured as at 108 to the face of the machine base and is so formed as to guard and prevent the-fingers fromstriking any object on theconvex side While the concave side 109 provides clearance for free operation of the thread and convenient threading of the parts.

For convenience and ease in removing the work from the stitching position, a tension release or opener is provided for the needle threads 71 as indicated by 110, see Fig. 2. ried by the arm 111 of a sliding member 112 secured in position by shoulder screws 113 for endwise movement. The end 114 of an upstanding arm 1-16 of the lever 11'? operates in a slotted portion 115 of the s1ide'112. The lever 11'? is pivoted at 118 to the rear wall of the machine frame and has a slotted end 119, see Fig. 1, through which 'a pin 120 projects. This pin is carried by the foot lifting 1ever'53.

The operation of the thread fingers of the looper thread with respect to'the vertical rec'iprocation of the needles is as follows:

Starting with the needles at the highest position, the take-up finger 91 is approximately even and in line with the thread guides 90 and 94. The take-up finger .95 is resting aboveand on the thread. The take-up finger 99 has begun to lift the thread slightly. Then, as the needles are about to enter the goods, the take-up finger 91 has moved outward from theeyelets about /2, carrying the thread with it. The take-up finger 95 has moved downward about A carrying the thread with it. The take-up finger 99 hasmoved upward about from the eyelet 103 carrying the thread withit. Turning the machine further in its cycle of movement where the needles have passed down beyond the rear-of the looper, having entered the looper loop, the looper thread The opener is carhas cast off of the end of finger :95to the bent inclined portion 121, see Fig. :3, leaving a slack in the thread sufiicient to complete the drawing up of the stitch.

The thread remains slack, yet :under control until the looper has entered the needle loops on the upward movement of the needles. The action of fingers 95 and99' is clear of the looper thread ntil the needles reach their highest position, completing the cycle of stitch formation.

Itis to be understood that, by describing indetail herein any particular form, structure or arrangement, it isnotintended to limit the invention beyond the terms of the several claims or the requirements of the prior art.

Having thus explained the nature of our said invention and described away of constructing to co-operate with a single thread, and means for rotating said take-ups.

2. In a sewing machine havinga pair of crank shafts,' connecting means therebetween, and thread controlling means comprising tension means, thread guiding means, and a plurality of rotary take-up means each connected with a different crank.

3. Looper thread controlling means for sewing machines having an overhanging arm and comprising tension means and thread guiding means, and aaplin'ality of rotary thread take-up fingers each movable in a different path crosswise of said arm. r

4. Looper thread controllingmeans for sewing machines comprising tension means, thread guiding means, and a pluralityof opposed rotary thread take-up fingers.

5. In a sewing machine having a pair of crank shafts, means connecting said shafts, and lower thread controlling means comprising tension means, thread guidingmeans, and a plurality of rotary-thread take-up fingers connected with the cranks of one of said shafts.

'6. Thread controlling means for sewing machines having an overhanging arm and comprising needle thread takeeup :means movable in a circular path and longer thread controlling means also movable in a circular path and located one above the-other, said paths being cross wise of the arm, and means for rotating said take-up and thread controlling means.

'7. In a sewing'machine 'havinga pair of crank shafts and connecting means therebetween, needle thread controlling means comprising a take-"up. member connected With the cranks of one shaft and movable in 'a circular path, and a looper thread take-up means comprising a plurality of fingers connected with the cranks of the other shaft and also movable in a circular path.

'8. Lower thread controlling means for sewing machines comprising *a series of adjacently located spaced thread guides and a rotary thread take-up finger located between each pair of guides, and means for rotating said fingers.

'9. Needle thread controlling means for sewing machines having an overhanging armand comprising tension means, thread guiding means, and a rotarythread .take-up'means operative in a path crosswise of the arm and comprising'a finger projecting in the plane of movement thereof, means for rotating said take-up means, and means for releasing the tension on the needle thread. I

10. Needle thread controlling means for sewing machines having an overhanging arm and comprising tension means, thread guiding means, and a rotary thread take-up means comprising a finger projecting in the plane of movement thereof, means for rotating said take-up means, and means for releasing the tension on the needle thread and comprising a sliding member adapted to co-operate with the tension means and shiftable in the plane of the arm, and means for operating it.

11. Needle thread controlling means for sewing machines having an overhanging arm and comprising tension means, thread guiding means and a rotary take-up means shiftable in a path crosswise of the arm and comprising a finger projecting in the plane of movement thereof, means for rotating said take-up means, and tension release means co-operating with the tension means, and means for operating said tension release means.

12. In a sewing machine having an overhanging arm, needle mechanism and cross stitch laying mechanism, the combination of thread controlling means for the needle threads and including a rotary take-up operative in a path crosswise of the arm and comprising a finger projecting in the plane of movement thereof, and means for rotating said take-up means.

13. In a sewing machine having an overhanging arm, needle mechanism and cross stitch laying mechanism, the combination of thread controlling means for the needle threads and including a rotary take-up operative in a path crosswise of the arm and comprising a finger projecting in the plane of movement thereof, means for rotating said take-up means, and means for releasing the tension on the needle threads.

14. In a sewing machine having needle mechanism, cross stitch laying mechanism and looper mechanism including a looper shaft, and looper thread control means including a rotary takeup means operative in a path cross-wise of the looper shaft and comprising a finger projecting in the plane of movement thereof, and. means for rotating said take-up means.

15. In a sewing machine having an overhanging arm, needle mechanism, cross stitch laying mechanism and looper mechanism including a looper shaft, thread controlling means for the needle threads and including a rotary take-up and thread controlling means for the looper threads and also including a rotary take-up means both operative in paths cross-wise of the arm and looper shaft and located one above the other, and means for rotating said rotary take-ups.

16. In a sewing machine having an overhanging arm, needle mechanism, cross stitchlaying mechanism and looper mechanism including a looper shaft, thread controlling means for the needlethrcads and including a rotary take-up and thread controlling means for the looper threads and also including a rotary take-up means and both operative in paths cross-wise of the arm and looper shaft and located one above and the other below the arm, means for rotating said rotary take-ups, and tension release means for the needle threads.

17. In a sewing machine having needle mechanism, cross stitch laying mechanism and looper mechanism, and a pair of crank connected shafts for operating the needle and looper mechanisms, thecombination of thread controlling means for the needle threads and including a rotary thread take-up connected with the cranks of one of the shafts and thread controlling means for the looper threads and including a rotary take-up means connected with the cranks of the other shaft.

18. In a sewing machine having needle mechanism, cross stitch laying mechanism and looper mechanism, and a pair of crank connected shafts for operating the needle and looper mechanisms, the combination of thread controlling means for the needle threads and including a rotary thread take-up connected with the cranks of one of the shafts, thread controlling means for the looper threads and including a rotary take-up means connected with the cranks of the other shaft, the controlling means for the needle threads including tension means and tension release means for said needle threads. I

19. Thread controlling means for sewing machines comprising tension means, a plurality of thread guiding means, a plurality of rotary thread takeup means for the same thread, each located between a pair of thread guiding means and movable in different paths, and means for rotating the: 7

20. Thread controlling means for sewing machines comprising needle thread takeup means movable in a circular path and looper thread controlling means also movable in a circular path, and crank operated means connected with each of said thread controlling means for operating them.

21. Needle thread controlling means for sewing machines having an overhanging arm and comprising tension means, thread guiding means, a rotary takeup means operative in a path crosswise of the arm and comprising a finger projecting in the plane of movement thereof, and means for rotating said take-up means.

22. Needle thread controlling means for sewing machines having an overhanging arm and comprising tension means, thread guiding means, a rotary takeup means operative in a path crosswise of the arm and comprising a finger projecting in the plane of movement thereof, and crank operated means connected with said rotary takeup means for operating it.

23. In a sewing machine having needle mechanism and looper mechanism, a pair of shafts for operating said mechanisms, and thread controlling means comprising a plurality of independently movable rotary takeups spaced apart in the direction of the length of said shafts and operative in circular paths transversely of said shafts.

24. In a sewing machine having needle mechanism and looper mechanism, a pair of shafts for operating said mechanisms, and thread controlling means comprising a plurality of independently movable rotary takeups spaced apart in the direction of the length of said shafts and operative in circular paths transversely of said shafts and crank connected means between said shafts and connected with the rotary takeups for operating them.

25. In a sewing machine having an overhanging arm, needle mechanism and looper mechanism including a looper shaft, thread controlling means for the needle threads and thread controlling means for the looper threads, each comprising a rotary take-up means both operative in paths crosswise of the arm and looper shaft and located one above and the other below said arm.

26. In a sewing machine having an overhanging arm, needle mechanism and looper mechanism including a looper shaft, thread controlling means for the needle threads and thread controlling means for the looper threads, each comprising a rotary takeup means both operative in paths crosswise of the arm and looper shaft, and crank operated means connected with each of said rotary takeup means for operating them.

5 27. In a sewing machine having needle mechanism and looper mechanism and a pair of crank connected shafts for operating the needle and looper mechanisms, the combinationof thread 1 controlling means for the needle threads and including a rotary takeup connected with the cranks of one of the shafts, and threadcontrolling means for the looper threads and including a rotary takeup means connected with the cranks of the other shaft.

JOHN P. WEIS.

ALBERT H. WEIS. 

